


Pack Bonds

by AgeOfArtemis



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: (I think?), (in the first part he gets better towards the end), Alpha Dick Grayson, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Damian is mentioned, Dick Grayson living up to his name, Jason Todd Deserves Happiness, Jason Todd-centric, Omega Jason Todd, Other, Single Parent Jason Todd, lmk if anything else needs to be tagged, steph and cass appear briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25086889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgeOfArtemis/pseuds/AgeOfArtemis
Summary: Jason Todd has never had a Pack Bond with anyone - until Dick Grayson, that is. But even that tentative Pack Bond is shattered when it's still barely formed.So now he's alone, and pregnant, and the Bats will likely take his baby away. He does the only thing he thinks he can: he runs.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Original Child Character(s), Talia al Ghul & Jason Todd
Comments: 28
Kudos: 411





	Pack Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> So like a lot of people on this site, English isn't my first language. If you spot any mistakes please let me know! Gramar isn't my strong suit.
> 
> This is the first work I've ever officially posted, but I've got a bunch more I might eventually post. It's a little wonky because I wrote this with like a two month pause between it and I wasn't sure how to end it. Hope you enjoy it!

Jason's nervous enough about this whole thing with Dick already. Dick is his first in many things, his first pack bond, his first boyfriend, etc.

Getting pregnant really isn't making it much better.

It's weird. They've been very careful every time they've had sex. He doesn't know how this happened. Still, when he hears the door of his apartment open, he hides the test in the front pocket of his hoodie and prepares to tell the alpha.

He doesn't get the chance.

Dick is clenching his jaw when Jason comes out of the bathroom. He scowls when he sees the omega and Jason frowns. He's pretty sure he hasn't done anything that should make Dick this angry. He hasn't killed anyone in over a month, hasn't used 'excessive force' or maimed anyone in three weeks. That's really the only thing Dick gets this angry about when it comes to him.

"Alright, fuck it," the older man says. "I can't do this anymore."

"What?" Jason asks, confused. "Did I do something?"

"Did you do something?!" Dick repeats, incredulous. "You know what you did! We've given you so many chances, Bruce has given you so many chances! You keep throwing them away! I can't keep doing this thing with you if you keep doing that! I can't believe I volunteered for this fucking babysitting job, you're a lost cause."

And that, that’s the exact moment Jason feels the pack bond shatter. That tentative, fragile little thread he's been cherishing so carefully, his first. It'd felt wonderful when he'd first discovered it and the wonder at having it hadn't yet worn off. And now it was gone. He flinches when it breaks, but Dick doesn't seem to even register it. Of course he wouldn't, he probably has dozens others.

He was stupid to think he'd ever be allowed to have something that good for long.

He clenches his fist around the pregnancy test and keeps his face carefully blank.

"Say something!" Dick snarls.

"What do you want me to say?" Jason spits, hiding behind that familiar mask of anger. He decides in that moment that, even if Dick deserves to know because it's his, Jason won't tell him about the baby. The Bats will surely take them away from him one way or another, and he can't stand the thought of it. Call him selfish, but he won't let them. "Oh no, please don't leave?! I'll behave, Alpha, I promise, please just stay?! I'll be a good little omega?!"

"You're impossible," Dick snarls. He leaves, then.

Jason wastes no time packing his shit. He takes the test and the packaging it came in, refusing to leave a hint of it behind. They'll be after him like a dog after a bone if he does.

He only packs essentials before he leaves. Clothes, the cash he has in the apartment, some food and a bottle of water. The only non-essential thing he allows himself to take is his most cherished book, his original copy of The Hobbit he used to read with Catherine.

He dumps his phone in the nearest trashcan once he's outside and buys a burner. Hotwires a car and gets the fuck out of Gotham.

He drives all night and stops early morning at some gas station. At this point he honestly has no clue where he is, but that doesn’t mean the Bats won't. He fills up his tank, buys a sandwich and pays in cash. While he eats in the parking lot, he starts getting in touch with some of his contacts from his League days.

He starts driving again half an hour later. An hour after that, Talia texts the burner asking him what he's doing. He replies with a quick 'getting out' and doesn’t elaborate.

The next town he comes across, he buys a new burner and dumps the old one.

A week later, he enters a walk-in clinic and asks for a check up. When the nurse comes back and confirms he's pregnant, he's surprised to feel a flutter of excitement.

"No alpha?" the woman asks. She sounds disapproving.

Jason smiles sweetly and lies, "She's working. I wanted it to be a surprise."

When he checks the phone as he leaves, it's with another text from Talia. Unsurprising, considering he's still speaking to his contacts. It's an address and a time. He goes.

It turns out to be a little café. Talia's sitting in the corner, blending in perfectly. Jason joins her. She raises an eyebrow and doesn’t say a word.

"I highly doubt you don't already know," Jason says. "We both know you still have people trailing me."

Talia scoffs. "Of course I do," she says. "Richard is lucky I know you don't want him dead, and that I'd never kill him with how much problems it would cause. Not without a reaon."

It's an invitation, Jason knows. To sever the alpha's head if Jason does want it.

He doesn't.

Talia nods at his silence and takes a folder from her handbag. She hands it to him. "Your new identity. It holds any information you could possibly need, including funds untraceable to you."

Jason smiles, just a little. They don't have a pack bond, but he knows Talia will do a lot for him. Cares for him. There's just a vulnerability necessary for a pack bond that neither is quite able to express towards the other.

* * *

Three weeks later he's settling into a nice little three bedroom, two story house, porch and all in the middle of nowhere. It's a little town with about a thousand people. The local car repair shop is looking for people and Jason applies.

"You got any qualifications?" the owned, a burly man named Steve asks him. Jason scratches his head.

"No, not really. Build some bikes before, though, and I've been working with cars since I could walk."

The beta narrows his eyes, looks at Jason's stomach for a bit as he sniffs the air, and says, "You can proof me what ya can do later. For now you can do the paperwork, at least."

Jason's stares at him, dumbfound.

The beta shrugs. "Got a fine nose, see? No pregnant omega goes out looking for a mechanic job unless they know they can do it an' need the job, but I ain't letting you near those fumes until that baby's born."

Jason looks sheepish. "I- right, that's not a thing I'm allowed to do. That's stupid of me. I'm still getting the hang of this."

"No worries, kid," the man says kindly. "You got anyone to help you out?"

Really, the only reason Jason's even this relaxed is because both he and Talia scouted this entire village and found nothing remotely suspicious.

"Not really."

"How about this, I show you what you'll be doing for now and you come eat dinner at my place tonight? My wife would love to meet you."

"Uh, sure?"

So that's what happens. Steve's wife, Abby, is a nice lady who's cooking is delicious and who helps him out with anything he needs. Every month he joins them for dinner on Mondays.

His neighbors are a middle aged family on one side, who he doesn’t talk to much, and a young couple on the other, a beta male and female. The woman, Naomi, is also pregnant with the due date just a month before Jason. At 24 she's four years older than Jason, and her mate Ben is 26.

They all get along great and Naomi and him go to a bunch of baby things together. Jason's one of the first to hold their little Nathan when he's born, and the same goes for Naomi with Jason's little Elisabeth.

Years go on. Jason works in the shop. Steve learns not to let him go out front too much because he will deck any sexist piece of shit if he's so inclined. Fridays nights after work he spends time with Naomi, Ben and Nathan. The pups get along great.

When he's working, he leaves his little Eliza with either Naomi, who's a stay at home mom, or Abby, who's always happy to babysit. His baby girl grows up and Jason's happier than he's ever been in his life. He might not have gotten to finish high school or go to college, and he misses his city every day, but he's happy. He goes to a therapist and gets better. He has pack bonds now, not only with his daughter but with Naomi, Ben and Nathan too, little Nathan who calls him Uncle Jay.

Everything is better than he had ever dared to dream. Different, but good.

One afternoon in June, when his baby just turned 15 and he's almost 36, he's just working on one of the cars that comes in regularly, an old piece of junk the owner refuses to give up on, when Steve walks into the garage. He's laying underneath the car at the moment he hears three pairs of footsteps walk in, one definitely Steve and two unfamiliar ones.

"Jason! Get out underneath that car real quick. These two ladies are on a road trip and their car broke down," Steve's voice calls. Jason does as he says and gets up, only to see two faces he thought he'd never see again.

See, after fifteen years, Jason assumed the Bats had given up. Or, at the very least, that they'd never find him. He's been in the same place for _years_. But here are Cassandra and Stephanie, looking back at him with an equal amount of surprise.

All three of them are too well trained to start anything with Steve in the room, but as the two girls leave after Jason inspected the car and they discussed the specifics (when it would be done and about how much it'd cost), he's well aware they aren't going to leave it at this.

"You know those two?"

Sometimes Jason really hates how well Steve can read him.

"Yeah, knew them back in Gotham," he says. Steve hums. He doesn't know much details, just that he left and had no one when he came here.

"You want me to tell them we can't help them?"

Jason smiles softly. "Nah, it's cool."

He's locking up the shop at the end of his shift when Cass and Steph come back in. Steve left about an hour ago. It makes him anxious to have them here. Liza's with Abby, because even though she's more than able to stay home alone for a few hours at this point she still goes every Friday because she wants to, and Steve likely told her it'd be about an hour before her mom would be done. The shop is on the way home from Steve and Abby's place. She could walk in at any point and Jason really doesn't want the Bats to know about her.

He's still afraid someone will take her away.

"What do you want?" he sighs wearily.

"We thought you were dead!" Steph shouts. "Is this where you've been all this time?! Why didn’t you tell us you were alive?"

"Okay, one, I never made it seem like I was dead in any way, it’s not my fault that's the conclusion you come to," the man says. "And also, the whole point was that you wouldn't find me. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Road trip," Cass replies. "We wanted… a break."

"What kind of road trip takes you here? It's the middle of nowhere!"

"The kind a' road trip where you just take random exits," Steph answers. There is silence for a moment, the two women unsure what to do and Jason refusing to talk, before Jason's phone rings.

"Fucking shit, shit, shit," he mutters, recognizing the custom ringtone he'd set for his baby girl.

How ever much he doesn't want to, he answers. "Hi, sweetheart."

Steph and Cass watch curiously. Jason glares at them.

_"Are you still at the shop?"_

"Yeah, baby, but you can just go straight home." Please go home, please go home.

_"Are you not done yet? I'll just wait for you."_

"That's really-"

" _Be there in five!"_

Eliza hangs up. Goddamnit. Ever since she had her first pseudo-rut, she's been sticking to Jason as much as possible, even growling at people when they do something she doesn't like. She's at the age where instincts start acting up and young alphas get really protective of everyone and everything they see as theirs. She's been doing it to Nathan, too.

They really need to have a talk.

"Can you two please just fuck off and leave me alone?" Jason sighs. "Preferably without alerting everyone."

"We've been trying to find you for years and you think we're not going to tell the others?" Steph demands.

"I think you've already told everyone and I'm honestly waiting for Damian to show up in full gear to put me in Arkham," the man sighs. "Who thought making him Batman was a good idea?"

"Mom!" a voice calls from outside. Jason winces.

"Mom?" Cass asks as the door opens. Liz comes in, eyeing the two alphas warily.

"Who are you?" she asks.

"They're _leaving_ ," Jason replies. But they don't. They stare at the young girl, eyes wide. It doesn't surprise him. Eliza had more of Dick's general facial structure than his own and has the same striking blue eyes.

"Is she-,"

" _Yes_ , Stephanie. Now _leave_."

Eliza starts growling softly now that she picks up on his mood. Steph and Cass share a look and finally leave.

[][][][]

  


The miraculous thing is that he makes it most of Saturday without being bothered. It's around seven that there's a knock on the door, and he sighs, resigned.

A furious Dick Grayson greats him, and he's never been so glad to have Eliza out of the house.

"Get in before you start yelling," he says. "The neighbors don't need to get dragged in to this."

The moment the door is closed, Dick grabs his throat and slams him against the wall, hard. Well, at least they won't bother the neighbors. And at least he isn't squeezing off his air supply.

The alpha is growling, furious. The scent of rage is pouring off of him in waves. "A child?!" he roars. "You hid a child from me?! _My_ child?!"

"You hated me, and I wasn't willing to risk losing her," Jason replies calmly. He's gone over this scenario a thousand times over the past few years, a dozen times in the last day alone. He's mentally far healthier than he's ever really been, even if he still isn't nearly as calm as he'd like to be. "I gave her the option to introduce you to her. Multiple times. Before and after explaining the situation. She chose not to."

"You expect me to believe that?" Dick snarls.

"You can believe whatever-"

The back door opens. "Mom!" Eliza's voice calls. There's two pair of footsteps, so Nathan's with her. If Jason's not in the kitchen or the living room they'll go check upstairs and stumble upon Dick and Jason in the hallway.

"Where are you? Nathan and I want to go-" Eliza stops short in the doorway so suddenly Nathan almost runs into her. "Who the fuck are you?"

Dick visibly softens, but he still doesn't let Jason go. Nathan, pale but level headed, says, "I'll get dad," and runs.

"Hey, baby," Jason says softly. Elisabeth doesn't take her eyes off Dick, growling. It isn't near anywhere as intimidating as she likely thinks it is.

"Who. Are. You," she repeats.

Dick seems unsure of what to do, and then the choice is taken away from him when Ben comes storming in, pushes past Lizzy and runs straight into Dick, forcing the man away from Jason, who is then immediately pushed behind Ben. The beta cuts an admittedly intimidating figure for most people, six feet tall, beard and a wide build, but Dick's not that easily scared. Ben would never really stand a chance against him.

"Alright, enough!" Jason yells through the snarling and growling. "Calm down and shut up!"

Eliza stops immediately. Ben lets his growl rumble on for another second or two and Dick shuts up after giving the beta another snarl.

Jason runs a hand down his face and then back up, burying it in his hair. "Elisabeth," he says softly, "meet your dad."

"Get out," the girl tells Dick immediately.

Dick looks a little lost, unsure of what to do.

"You've never been around! You've never cared before!" Eliza snarls.

"I didn’t know you existed," Dick defends himself.

"But you knew mom did!" the girl snaps back. "You _abandoned_ him after lying to him for months!"

"What did you _tell_ her?" Dick demanded from Jason.

"What you told me," Jason replies. "That you thought I was a lost cause and you wished you hadn't taken that babysitting job."

"What the fuck?" Ben demands.

"Ben, can you- we're not getting anywhere like this, can Liza please stay with you tonight?"

"Mom-!"

"Yeah, of course," Ben murmurs. "We'll grab her some stuff, okay?"

Elizabeth protests loudly, affronted, but lets Ben herd her upstairs. Dick bares his teeth at Jason and glares at him.

"Oh, for the love of- please just get into the living room," the omega sighs. The alpha does so, after another quick growl.  


Ben and a sulking Eliza come back down about a minute later. Jason kisses his baby girl on the cheek and tells her he loves her. She grumbles and heads outside through the front door. Ben watches her go for a few seconds.

"It'll be fine," he says softly. He slings an arm around Jason's shoulders and brings him to his chest, kissing his forehead. "Liza will be safe with us for the night. If you need help kicking this asshole out, don't be afraid to ask."

Jason laughs, just a little. "Thanks, Ben. I'll manage, though."

Ben heads out after that, and Jason joins a still seething Dick in the living room.

"So, who did you bring? Is Damian hanging on the roof? Tim? Please tell me you didn’t bring Bruce."

"I didn’t bring anyone, Gotham still needs to be protected," Dick snaps. Jason raises his hands in surrender, an eyebrow raised. "I just- what the _fuck_ , Jason?"

"Well, I hope you're not waiting for a good explanation, cause I don't got one," the younger of the two says. "I found out I was pregnant just before you stormed in and was just about to tell you. Then you said all that shit, fucked off, and I didn't really know what to do so I ran. I was too afraid of anyone taking my pup away from me to really think clearly."

Dick doesn't need to know about that pack bond. He doesn't need to know about how pathetic Jason truly was.

"What, you think we would've forced you to have an abortion?" Dick demands, offended.

"Probably not, but I still doubt you would've let me keep her."

"Well maybe we would've had a reason to! You're dangerous and unstable!"

"I was, yeah. But I find it frankly offensive you think that A, I would have been dangerous around children although I had already proven to be quite the opposite at that point so long as those children weren't Tim or Damian with me in the middle of Pit Madness and that B, I wouldn't do literally anything for my own baby."

Dick storms off and out into the night. Jason doesn't hear from him again in the time it takes him to fix Steph and Cassandra's car. Doesn't hear anything from him for another two months, which is the source of many of Liza's rants.

Almost at the three months mark, he gets a text from Dick. Asking to meet up with the two of them, anywhere Jason wants. So Jason tells him that's fine, if Dick's cool with a diner in town because Lizzy still has school and can't just leave.

So a week after that, they're awkwardly sitting in the diner. Eliza is openly hostile as Dick tries to talk with her and Jason barely admonishes her for it unless she snarls.

In the next few months Dick tries his best to bond with Elisabeth, who's reluctant to go along with it. She usually drags Jason along even if it was intended to just be her and Dick. Dick is in turn reluctant to talk to Jason, which only fuels the young alpha's contriteness.

The relationship between Elisabeth and Dick does improve, little by little. Dick slowly seems to realize his daughter will never really see him as a dad, but he keeps trying. And, more importantly to Liza, he doesn't get angry at Jason about it.

Jason doesn’t see the other Bats during this time, and that's fine with him.

Live goes on. Dick visits once a month, Eliza grows up.

Everything is better than Jason ever dared to hope they would be.


End file.
